


The Early Birds Get the Worms (So They Can Go Fishing)

by writingwithmolls



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate title is Byleth gives advice the only way she knows how: fishing, F!Byleth, F/F, Pre-Time Skip, Pre-War, featuring a stressed and driven Edelgard who just needs a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 12:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingwithmolls/pseuds/writingwithmolls
Summary: When Edelgard was assigned for training with her professor, she didn't expect to be sitting on a dock at dawn with Byleth.





	The Early Birds Get the Worms (So They Can Go Fishing)

“Professor,” Edelgard went up to her desk as the rest of her classmates filed out of the room, “you forgot to assign me to a group task this weekend.”

“I didn’t.” She responded, looking up from her papers. Edelgard could see the various markings and corrections on the top paper. “And our Lindhardt just got a 100 on this test because he got every answer inversely wrong without fail.”

“But I didn’t get partnered with anyone.”

Byleth drew a little smiley face on Linhardt’s paper. “You’re going to do some special training with me tomorrow.”

“Excuse me?” Edelgard raised her eyebrows. She wasn’t sure how to feel about spending time alone with her teacher. She was a strange woman, her silence could be unsettling at times and as Dorothea had said, her eyes seemed to look right through others.

“We’ll meet outside my room when the morning church bells ring.” Byleth ignored her student’s shock, shuffling her papers. “It might be cold, so wear something warm.”

“The morning church bells? That’s  _ dawn _ , professor.”

“If we don’t finish early, then you won’t have time to scheme with Hubert.” Byleth explained.

“I don’t scheme with Hubert.”

“You do.”

Edelgard scratched at her head, still not sure if her teacher was joking. If she was even capable of joking.

“Do you have another question? I need to see Professor Manuela.” Byleth started to put away the tests, getting up from her desk.

“No, but--”

“I’ll see you at dawn.” Byleth said, leaving before Edelgard could argue further.

*

“Why am I doing this?” Edelgard asked herself as she paced in front of her teacher’s room. Sure enough, the bells had gone off at the church and rather than turning over and going back to sleep, Edelgard had dragged herself out of bed and had gotten dressed. She already didn’t get enough sleep every night with the nightmares and the dining hall wasn’t open to get coffee. She was exhausted, but she also knew that the professor could be a stickler about being on time. Her sweater wasn’t exactly guarding her from the cold.

“Good morning, Edelgard.” Byleth opened her door, yawning. “I’m surprised that you’re here. I was ready to slam on your door.”

“You of all people should know that I’m always timely.” Edelgard said. She was looking at her professor’s outfit. Although she was dawning her usual robe, underneath she was wearing plain clothes. Her usual outfit was strange anyways, Edelgard always assumed it had to do with her upbringing as a mercenary. She looked more… human in a V-neck and pants.

“Let’s head out.” She locked the door behind her, spinning the keys on a finger as she began to walk in the direction of the monastery greenhouse.

Edelgard fell into step with her. “What are we doing, anyways? Do I need anything with me?”

“Just yourself.”

Edelgard couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was this early in the morning. By the time they got to the fish stand by the pond, they had yet to hear a single person awake. It took her a second in her sleep-fogged brain to notice that Byleth was unlocking the door to the stand.

“Wait, what?”

“The man who works here gave me, Flayn, and Seteth keys so we can get in while he’s not here.” Byleth offered, climbing in and handing her stunned student two fishing rods. “We spent lots of time fishing together, so we ended up pretty good friends.”

_ What was happening? _ Edelgard frowned at the two rods in her hands, unsure of what to do. Her brows were furrowed, Byleth emerging from the shed once more with an empty bucket and another filled with bait. She had a bucket hat on her head, out of place for her stoic expression.

“What are we doing? I thought we were training.”

“Yes.” Byleth closed the door behind her with her foot. She placed the buckets down at the edge of the dock, motioning her student over. “We’re fishing, isn’t in obvious?”

“I mean… I guess it is.” Edelgard said, allowing Byleth to take one of the rods out of her hands. “I thought that we were going to train? Shouldn’t I be working on my axe skills? Or caring for the horses in the stable? Or even organizing the classroom? I don’t see how this is helpful.”

Byleth ignored her. “Your line already has a hook on it, so you just need to take the bait and stick it on.” The professor showed Byleth, balancing the pole against her leg as she worked on the hook. She provided additional instruction, but Edelgard was still trying to process what was happening. Sure, she knew that the professor fished. Everyone talked about it behind her back because she looked even more zoned out than she usually did when staring out at the lake. 

“Edelgard. You’re not listening.” Byleth called back her attention. “It’s not  _ that _ early in the morning.”

“I’m sorry, Professor.” Edelgard amended, beginning to hook her own bait. She nearly sent the hook through her finger if it wasn’t for Byleth taking her hands into her own.

“Be careful.” Byleth took on her tone that she usually reserved for shutting Ferdinand down during class. “You need to pay attention to what you’re doing, Edelgard.”

“I’m sorry.” She repeated again, this time correctly hooking the bait.

Byleth showed her how to cast the line and this time Edelgard listened, watching as the bait disappeared below the surface.

“And now we wait.” Byleth sat down on the edge of the dock, her feet dangling over the edge.

Edelgard frowned. “Professor--”

“You can just call me Byleth, you know? We’re not in the classroom.”

Edelgard shook her head. “That’s not professional.”

“Fine.” Byleth sighed, motioning next to her. “Come, sit down. The fish aren’t going to bite if they know that you’re waiting.”

“Why are we doing this?” Edelgard asked, although she followed the order. The chill of the air was only amplified as it drifted off of the pond. “Don’t we have… other things to do?”

“Yes.” Byleth said. “Don’t tell me you’re getting antsy already?”

Edelgard stopped her answer of  _ of course _ when she saw a ghost of a smile on her professor’s face. Teasing. She was teasing her.

Edelgard lasted about five minutes in the silence.

Her hands were so damn cold as the chill settled in her bones. The fish weren’t biting, but her professor seemed content with sitting on the end of the dock with a dumb hat on her head. Edelgard stared at the pond, willing a stupid fish to bite her line.

“You didn’t dress warmly.” Byleth said as she watched Edelgard attempt to rub her hands together.

“I didn’t think we would be sitting around.” Edelgard couldn’t stop the bitterness in her tone. It was ridiculous. In months she would be becoming Emperor and she was  _ sitting around _ .

“We’re not. We’re fishing. Hold this.” Byleth pushed her fishing rod into Edelgard’s hands before standing. Edelgard heard her shuffling behind her before a heavy weight settling on her shoulders.

Edelgard was grateful for the warmth, but she saw that it was the robe that Byleth wore every day. Byleth sat back down next to her, taking the rod back and Edelgard hoped her hair hid her blush.

“Thank you.” She said quietly.

“No problem.” Byleth said. They continued to sit, just the two women in the quiet of the monastery.

Even though she was warm, Edelgard was growing more frustrated with every passing moment. There were things she had to be doing. They weren’t even catching  _ fish _ .

“How long are we going to be here?” She asked.

Byleth shrugged. “Until we did our share.”

“We didn’t catch any fish.”

“We’re still fishing.”

Edelgard groaned. Her body wanted to do  _ something _ . The sun was getting to be well about their heads and she wasn’t starting her day. Byleth was acting like they had all the time in the world.

“Is something wrong?” Byleth asked after watching her student shift around and writhe in her spot.

“I just--” Edelgard cut herself off with a frustrated half-scream, her feelings pouring into words. “--this isn’t training! We could be going into a battle  _ any day _ and we’re sitting on a dock waiting for fish to bite.” She angrily gestured at Byleth’s line, still without any bites. The pond itself was completely still, not a ripple on the surface. “It isn’t helping our fighting skills, it’s not preparing us for battle, and I’m certainly not learning anything useful.”

Byleth waited for her student to settle down, angry huffs as Edelgard’s back rose and fell.

“You’re right.” She said.

“What?” Breathless.

“I said that you’re right.” Byleth shrugged, her eyes leaving the pond to instead gaze at Edelgard. “This isn’t helping our fighting skills. It’s not preparing us for battle. You won’t be learning anything useful.”

“Then why--”

Byleth held up her hand, bringing Edelgard to a stop. “It’s okay to do something that isn’t productive. You want to create a bright future and that’s commendable. But you’re not human if you can’t sit back and enjoy what you’re creating. Sometimes you need to take a deep breath and be grateful for being alive. What we have.”

Edelgard flinched at the words. She had never heard her professor talk that much unless if it was during a lecture. “I’m sorry.”

Just as Byleth was going to respond, Edelgard’s line dipped under the surface of the pond. “You got one.”

“Oh my goodness.” Edelgard said, not knowing what to do.

Byleth leaned over, putting her own rod down and placing her hands over Edelgard’s. “Here we’re going to real it in together.”

It may have been the only fish that they caught all day. It may have been small and not even big enough to warrant cooking it. It may have taken them an hour to catch it. But Edelgard knew that it was okay. She was able to breathe.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoy my work and would like to support me (for absolutely free!), please consider following my writing Instagram: @mollymariewrites I'm a queer woman who not only writes fanfiction... but also short stories, poetry and novels so it would mean a lot to me to support my future projects<3


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